GRR Reviews Handling Susannah (Mail-Order Grooms by Amelia Smarts

Handling Susannah is an odd combo... Historical Western Romance with spanking and BDSM. I honestly find the plot absurd, but the setup is interesting.

Adam Harrington was about to lose his family ranch when sheep ranchers basically stole his portion of land with the grass, and his father's deed was never clear on where the dividing line was, and he can't raise cattle on what's left. He liquidated his ranch just as he saw the unusual ad... a woman needs a mail order groom to inherit the ranch she grew up on. Susannah Smith is indeed beautiful, and she invited him to wed. Upon arriving, he found that his bride was actually a conniving fallen woman... Not only did she invite 3 other cowboys as well, she has a son born out of wedlock, and knows almost nothing about being a ranch owner or housewife. She was pretty much a spoiled brat, not that she can wed anyone in town, as nobody with any sense would marry her. Adam was expecting a sweet young virginal bride; Susannah was expecting a husband that can be lead... Neither is what the other expected... but he'll do his darndest to make it work, even if he had to spank some sense into her...

This book left me confused. On one hand, I admire the setup that handcuffed the two opposites together. On the other hand, I don't like how Susannah's "transformation" was handled. Basically, it's exactly as described... he had her over his knees and spanked her, and she enjoyed it, and that basically turned her, kinda, into a proper lady... Uh, sorry, that makes no sense at all. It balanced out to an average score for me.

Category: Historical Western / Kink

Primary Plot: Mail order groom arrived to find the woman concealed a lot about herself and is a spoiled brat; he'll spank some sense into her

Tropes: Alpha male, mail order bride/groom, kink, weird will,

Overall Rating:  3/5